Anthrax Delays Princeton Mail

The discovery of anthrax in New Jersey regional post offices halted mail operations at Princeton University last Friday, prompting Princeton admissions officials to issue a statement that they “plan to be flexible with the early admission deadline of November 1st.”

When a single colony of anthrax was detected in the West Windsor, N.J. post office, the primary source of Princeton University mail, university officials immediately discontinued all delivery of U.S. mail throughout the campus.

Mail is currently being sorted in tents outside the West Windsor office, and the university’s website says Princeton will soon be resuming delivery of that mail.

The Hamilton, N.J. post office, which also serves Princeton, has been closed since anthrax was detected there two weeks ago.

“We are well aware that there are a lot of applications in the mail that is being held up in those locations, and we don’t want students to worry any more than they have to,” said Fred A. Hargadon, dean of admissions at Princeton.

Hargadon stressed that his office is aware of the anxiety accompanying the admissions process and does not wish to contribute to it further.

“We issued a statement on our Web page even before any concern was expressed,” Hargadon said.

Neither the West Windsor or Hamilton branches have announced plans to reopen.

Princeton admissions officials are suggesting that applicants fax copies of their applications to the office if they have reason to believe that their application is caught in the mail.

Harvard admissions officials say they see no current need to issue an official statement to placate prospective Harvard students.

“Harvard has not changed any admissions policies, but we are prepared as we always are in unusual circumstances to be flexible,” said Dean of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis ’70-’73.

She stressed that the deadline exists so that the office can honor its agreement to notify prospective applicants of its decisions by mid-December.

“We want to remind students that we have a regular deadline also that does not hurt their chance for admissions,” McGrath Lewis said.

Workers in admission offices at Harvard and Princeton are taking similar precautions in opening mail, using U.S. Postal Service recommendations as guidelines.

Despite a false scare over some white powder found at Princeton’s Frist Campus Center last Monday, anthrax has not been detected on either campus.

Nevertheless, workers from mail services at both schools have been conducting seminars for various offices on safe mail-handling procedures.

“We are being helpful and prudent by supplying all mail rooms with gloves and masks ,” said Ursula J. Moore, manager of Harvard University Mail Services.

Moore said all suspicious mail can be directed to the Harvard Environmental Health and Safety Department, where it is heat-shocked to kill all bacteria. However, with the Postal Service’s plan to sanitize all incoming mail, a project that will cost billions of dollars, this will be no longer necessary.

“All our officials are professionals taking this very seriously,” Moore said. “They are like policemen and firemen who ought to be admired for coming to work in these high-risk situations. “